Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4W-12717

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 27 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many GP practices have phone lines that are not (a) free to call or (b) charged at a local rate.

Question reference: S4W-13190

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 27 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that there are effective links between the National Planning Framework 3, marine planning and the sustainable land use strategy.

Question reference: S4W-13189

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 27 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the need for any national development is demonstrated before it is considered as a potential development in the National Planning Framework 3.

The criteria for National Developments were announced and published in September 2012 when we launched the pre Main Issues Report engagement exercise. Those national developments that we propose to take forward will be identified in the Main Issues Report, to be published shortly. The proposed national developments will be those which meet the mandatory criterion, at least one of the optional criteria and support the emerging spatial strategy.

Question reference: S4W-13187

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 27 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the National Planning Framework 3 will not result in significant adverse environmental effects.

A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of National Planning Framework 3 is being undertaken. As required by the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005, this will identify the likely significant environmental effects arising from the Framework, and set out mitigation measures to avoid or reduce significant adverse effects, where possible and appropriate. A Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA) is also being undertaken, to identify and avoid adverse effects on the integrity of European protected sites and species. The SEA Environmental Report and a Draft HRA Record, setting out the findings of these environmental assessments, will be published for public consultation alongside the Main Issues Report.

Question reference: S4T-00253

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 18 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to NHS boards for the delivery of paediatric services.

Question reference: S4O-01801

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when the feasibility study of future uses of Shambellie House will be published.

Question reference: S4W-11977

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 28 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what legal requirements there are for local authorities to consider planning applications for housing developments in relation to their impact on local health services.

Question reference: S4W-11978

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a legal requirement for a transplant patient to be informed prior to the operation of any risk associated with an organ as a result of the donor’s (a) health or (b) lifestyle.

There is no legal requirement for a transplant patient to be informed of the risks with donated organs as a result of a donors health or lifestyle. Guidelines on this are provided in Guidelines for Consent for Solid Organ Transplantation, published in March 2011.

The guidelines are available at www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/pdf/guidelines_for_consent.pdf.

In the field of organ donation/transplantation each and every donor/recipient combination represents a balance of risk between the benefit of transplant and the risks associated with a particular organ and the transplant surgery. The decision to proceed with a transplant is ultimately down to the recipient and the transplant surgeon. A transplant surgeon and recipient may decide to go ahead with a procedure if they decide that the risk associated with potential transmission of infection or malignancy is outweighed by the risk of not being allocated an organ in time.

Question reference: S4W-12143

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to implement the recommendation of Equally Well: Report of the Ministerial Taskforce on Health Inequalities that "The Government should create and fund new evidence-based anticipatory care programmes for other groups at high risk of health problems".

The recommendations set out in the 2008 report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities Equally Well remain pertinent in The Scottish Government’s commitment to addressing the inequalities in health that persist in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has now mainstreamed the Keep Well programme.

Under the Keep Well programme, 40-64 year olds with no previous diagnosis of CVD, living in deprived communities, are invited to attend a health check, typically within their local GP Practice.

As part of the mainstreaming programme, Keep Well has been extended to specific populations, such as carers, homeless people, offenders, gypsy travellers and certain ethnic groups, who evidence suggests are at increased risk of CVD and other health inequalities.

Over 180,000 Keep Well health checks have been delivered across Scotland (between March 2009 and end June 2012).

Question reference: S4W-12144

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 January 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to implement the recommendation of Equally Well: Report of the Ministerial Taskforce on Health Inequalities that "The Government should continue to reform the funding of primary care services, to meet the needs of groups and communities most at risk of health inequalities".

The recommendations set out in the 2008 report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities Equally Well remain pertinent in the Scottish Governments commitment to addressing inequalities that persist in Scotland.

Scottish Enhanced Services Programme funding of £13 million has been allocated to Health Boards for 2012-13. Changes have been introduced to enhance local autonomy, whilst providing greater discretion for NHS boards to consider how spend assists primary care in delivering the aims of the quality strategy taking account of the 2020 vision for sustainable health care.